Spotify is increasing the price of its paid-for, premium tier.
The company will push up prices around the world, including Europe, South Asia and other regions. It did not specify which countries would be affected, and indicated that users hit by the price increase would receive an email telling them so.
Some countries already appear to have had the price increase applied. New customers in Portugal, Italy and France will now pay €11.99, €1 more than previously.
Some European countries such as France have already been hit with price increases in recent months and appear not to be affected by the latest adjustments.
The increases do not appear to be spreading to the US. The company has undertaken a series of price hikes in that country in recent years, after the cost of premium had long been held at $9.99.
The price increase is going into effect “so that we can continue to innovate on our product offerings and features, and bring you the best experience”, Spotify said in an example message sent to European users.
Spotify’s share price – which has been unstable in recent days but has gained around 40 per cent in the last year – was up around 8 per cent after the price change was announced.
The increase comes just days after Spotify reported its most recent results. They showed that the company had grown in paid subscribers – but less than expected, and the company’s share price fell by 12 per cent.
In a call around the earnings, Spotify’s chief executive Daniel Ek said that the company was avoiding regular price increases to ensure that it kept subscribers over the long term.
